the accords that brought peace to northern ireland and that provided a foreign policy triumph for president bill clinton. when i met owen patterson, the british government east most senior politician, at the time, the police requested the project tapes, i discovered there's a desire for the belfast project, but little appetite for u.s. interference. >> i think it's a good thing to capture these memmemories. it's not just an issue of the political history or the value ens, i think it's very interesting social and economic history. >> reporter: why go through with this process? why have the police embaed on this? >> it's a question you need to address with the police. if they have the desire to pursue or bring a case to the court, that is for them. it is quite wrong for a politician to interfere in that process. >> reporter: for british officials, releasing the secret tapes is a matter of justice. for mcintyre, it may be a matter of life and death. >> i feel that there's always the possibility of somebody throwing a grenade through the window. >> reporter: in the i.r.a.s eyes, mcintyre could